Emerging area of aging research: long-lived animals with "negligible senescence".

Field observations have suggested for quite some time that certain fish, turtles, and invertebrates have extremely long maximum life span potential. Age validation techniques have since confirmed these observations, but scientific analysis to understand the genetic and biochemical basis of this longevity has occurred only recently. The Centenarian Species and Rockfish Project now encompasses 13 pilot research projects, including such diverse investigations as histology, a cDNA library, and mitochondrial mutation analysis. In this document, the term "negligible senescence" is defined, and its background is given; age validation techniques are listed, and the various projects to date, including research results, are summarized.